St. Charles Parish, one of the original 19 parishes of the territory of Orleans, was created in 1807 from the county of the German Coast. By the early 1900’s, industry started moving into the Parish. In 1907, the first sawmill in the Parish opened. In 1908, the Louisiana Cypress Company began to harvest cypress in the area. The Cousins Canal was dug, and by 1912, over 100,000 feet of board lumber was floated out of it. Oil was discovered in St. Charles Parish in 1938 at Bayou Des Allemands. With the coming of the oil refineries, related industries also located in the Parish
